While such small commodities as tooth brushes are often sold loose by putting them in pouches, it is usual to package such articles in boxes made of plastics or paper for the purpose of promoting the sale of these articles by conveniently displaying them in the shop or store or from the standpoints of convenience of handling or of sanitation.
Plastic cases or boxes permit articles contained in them to be seen well-displayed if the box packages are transparent and suitably arranged in the store, thus aiding in bettering the sale, and they may also be conveniently handled and readily manufactured on a mass production scale. On the demerit side, however, they are too expensive to be discarded after the contents are consumed, and this high cost gives rise to various problems in the economy of resources. Moreover, such boxes are space-consuming and expensive to ship if shipped before filling with goods.
While paper boxes have been used before the spread of plastic cases, and are greatly advantageous in view of economy, they are usually rectangular in shape and hence must be stacked up for display in the store since they do not incorporate means for support on a display rack or the like, so that they are very inferior to the plastic cases in respect of the sale promotion effect. Provision of the paper box with a suspension tongue of a separate material to the end of bettering the display effect, on the other hand, poses difficulty in automatic mass production by machines. Also, it results in much waste paper at the time of manufacture and is inadequate in strength. Consequently a box design which can be made from a box blank by automatic machinery and which provides for support for the box is a desirable objective.